EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed in Thursday trade. Chinese stocks led losses regionally, with the Shanghai composite shedding 1.60%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 1.75%.
Elsewhere, share benchmarks were up, with Japan's Nikkei rising 1.16%, South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 0.50%, and Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times index advanced 0.46%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 nudged 0.33% higher.
Shares on Wall Street were mixed overnight. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.22% to around 13,453.07, dragged down by Netflix which plunged 35.1% after reporting a surprise decline in subscribers. The blue-chip Dow rose 0.71% to 35,160.79, and the S&P 500 dipped fractionally, lost 0.06% to 4,459.45.
OIL
Oil prices traded in a narrow range on Thursday, as concerns about tighter supplies from Russia and Libya dominated, and China’s demand outlook in continues to weigh on the market.
Libya, a member of OPEC, on Wednesday said the country was losing more than 550,000 bpd of oil output due to blockades at major fields and export terminals. Market volatility is also likely to pick up again soon, with the EU weighing a ban on Russian oil for its invasion of Ukraine.
The demand outlook in China meanwhile continues to weigh on the market, as the world's biggest oil importer slowly eases strict COVID-19 curbs that have hit manufacturing activity and global supply chains.
Crude inventories fell by 8 million barrels in the week ended April 15 to 413.7 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. U.S. gasoline stocks meanwhile fell by 761,000 barrels in the week to 232.4 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.7 million barrels to 108.7 million barrels, hitting levels not seen since May 2008.
Brent crude futures rose 0.5%, to $107.78 a barrel, while the U.S. WTI crude futures gained 57 cents, to 103.02 a barrel, both recouping losses from the previous session.
CURRENCIES
Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields inched up after they fell from three-year highs on Wednesday. U.S. bond yields have marched higher on expectations that the Federal Reserve will aggressively hike interest rates as inflation accelerates at its fastest pace in 40 years. The 10-year yield was last at 2.876%, a whisker higher in Asia trade, but still bruised after falling overnight from as high as 2.981% on Wednesday.
The U.S. dollar also strengthened after dropping in the previous session, was last at 100.405, down from a near two-year peak the previous day of 101.03.
GOLD
Gold prices eased as a rebound in U.S. Treasury yields tempered bullion's safe-haven demand.
Spot gold was down 0.36% at $1,950.70 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.17% at $1,952.30.
Spot silver dipped 0.4% to $25.07 per ounce, platinum was flat at $986.86, and palladium slipped 0.2% to $2,446.17.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian stocks mostly gained ground on Thursday, in exception of Chinese stocks which fell. Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks were hurt by worries about the Chinese economy and COVID-19 situation, while an overnight tumble in longer dated U.S. treasury yields lent support to other benchmark indexes.
Investors are watching for signs of policy support from Chinese authorities as the mainland continues to grapple with its most severe COVID-19 wave since the initial outbreak in 2020. China on Wednesday surprised markets by keeping benchmark lending rates unchanged, despite frequent government pledges to support a slowing economy hit by its worst COVID-19 outbreak.
Nevertheless, traders also monitoring other catalysts like the reopening of borders, elevated commodity prices as well as geopolitical risk and inflation pressure for drivers in the market.
